LIKE the storyline of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, children around the state had been searching for a golden ticket to attend an event this month that would fulfil their imagination.
Instead of a ticket in a chocolate bar, they searched for one of five golden feathers hidden in library books across WA as part of the inaugural Scribblers Festival in Claremont promoting children’s literature.
A Quinns Rocks family found one of the feather-shaped bookmarks in a book at Clarkson library, winning an iPad; VIP festival tickets; accommodation during the festival; and a customised book pack.
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READ NOWMother Kim Coss said having just moved to Perth from New Zealand, it was the first time her five children, who are avid readers, had been in the library.
“One of my boys didn’t know how to decide which book to borrow, so chose a book he’d read many times before The 91-Storey Tree House by Andy Griffiths and Terry Denton,” she said.
“As he was flicking through it, he came across a bookmark in the shape of a golden feather.”
It wasn’t until her eldest daughter Hannah (11) checked the book out that they discovered they had won.
Mrs Coss and Hannah attended the festival together this month and said they hadn’t been to anything like it, with a range of age appropriate and interesting activities for all festival goers.
“As a (home school) mum, I personally took away some great literacy ideas that I immediately implemented them in my lessons the following week,” she said.
“Anything, from attending the local library to festivals such as this one, should be promoted as a priority for our children in order to cultivate a love of learning.”
City of Wanneroo mayor Tracey Roberts said the Scribblers Festival was an initiative designed to encourage its youngest residents to visit their local library and discover the world of books.
“Children under 11 years makeup almost 19 per cent of the City’s population – compared to 15 per cent for WA – and the City is dedicated to providing a range of initiatives and programs such as this, to benefit children and their families,” she said.
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